@Charles SelfI actively invest in Huntsville AL (Buy/Hold, Fix/Flip) and work with a lot of In & Out of State investors buying investment properties.

My goal would be to buy it cheap, live in it, fix it up myself, and then eventually rent it out.  

Based on discussion with a potential property manager, we could cash flow $300-$400/month per unit on a 30 yr fixed or break even on a 15 yr note.

USREEB also agreed to fix the minor items on my repair list including the grading around the house and drainage ditch in the backyard. 

Two things could happen, you convert it, you apply for permit, the city inspects it, city calls code enforcement to check on other parts of the house, decides to give you citation, then you fix that, chiching ; or, you don’t qualify, you get a citation, you are forced to fix it, double chiching.

Sellers will not fix it.

I am currently working on my first fix and flip and things are looking good, but I didn't really have time to look at the numbers as if it were a rental unit to hold on to, but now that I am about to finish and sell the property, I am diligently looking for my first buy and hold rental.  

She has no savings and no investments (yes, I know, we are working on fixing that) but fortunately she has no student loan debt or anything besides her car and credit card payments mentioned above.Now, I'm aware of some on the low and no down payment options for her (FHA, USDA, I'm almost positive she can't get a VA loan but I'll double check), but the sticking point would be the monthly payments.

We're on track to spend about $13,000 fixing it up (most of the work has been done ourselves). 

The rules to Fannie/Freddie loans is that you have to loan in a person's name. 30 year fixed rates here with a lower rate than other loan types.